I’ve seen nothing in the news nor heard on the radio any mention of this. But something said in a chat room provoked me to google – and there it was. Not in our media, but in Australia’s.

The State Department said offers so far had come from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Russia, Japan, France, Germany, Britain, China, Jamaica, Honduras, Greece, Venezuela, the Organisation of American States, NATO, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, South Korea, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

This genuinely touched me. Even if we can manage the needed resources ourselves for recovery and even if we’re the bully of the world in too many eyes, human kindness is global.

Cuban President Fidel Castro, a close Chavez ally, led a minute of silence in remembrance of the victims of Katrina in parliament on today. The parliament then returned to normal business with a resolution attacking Mr Bush over the Iraq war.